Occasional Superheroine has a post up on The Demographics of the Mainstream Comic Book Reader, where she mentions that 90% of comic book readers are male.
I'd be curious to know how this compares to years past--I read comics as a kid (and beyond), my mom read comics as a kid and has never had a thing to say against my teenage (and adult) hobby. Granted that I'm not exactly the average woman (nor is my mom, come to think of it) but I don't think we're that unusual. My daughters read them--they probably wouldn't if I didn't buy them for them, but that's a function of the cost rather than of lack of interest.
However, unlike OC, I didn't find the figures all that surprising--it's what I've heard elsewhere--which has nothing to do with whether it's accurate or not, just that clearly I heard that somewhere before.
And I'll say now what I said the last time I heard the "women are only 10% of the mainstream comic readership" thing.
Which is that while 10% is obviously less than 90%, it's not an insignificant figure. A business that loses 10% of its customer base is going to feel it. Particularly in a relatively small industry like comics.*
Now, I'm pretty happy with my comics as they are. I like the stories, I like the art, I have little problem with how women are presented most of the time. (Please keep in mind that I grew up on Stan Lee's women. Stan is awesome but oh, that Silver Age Sue Richards...) I like Frank Cho--his women may have their cheesecake aspect (and I may giggle at some of the poses), but they're also solid, muscular women who look like they could kick some ass. So I may not be the one to ask about what's offensive to women.
In any case, in our house, the comic book readership is 75% female. :)
* I suppose the question is whether the things that would please the average female reader are also things that would drive away the average male reader. I don't think that's true. I don't think that the entire 90% male comic fan base would leave in a huff if the necklines went up--some might, but most comic fans aren't in it for the breasts. There are better places to go if what you want is breasts.
2 comments:
I've reported on official DC figures from 1995 here. It's about the same.
Whether Valerie is talking about Marvel or DC, do you think it's likely that they'll lose that 10%? They've done some pretty bad things (and comics), yet fangirls keep reading, hoping for better. I admire that optimism, and I'm not sure what would drive them away at this point.
My sister wouldn't read comics if she didn't borrow mine.
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